<p>Have you decided if you will be attending Carleton?</p>
<p>Yep. ED2, I can't wait.</p>
<p>D was accepted ED2 also. She is delighted and has not spent a minute second-guessing about the other schools she withdrew her apps from.</p>
<p>Our daughter would love to attend Carleton--it's her top choice by a country mile, and we're all pretty certain it would be an ideal situation for her in more ways than one. However, we're struggling with the financial aid issue. Carleton gave her a grant/work study/loan FA package that just isn't competitive with what other good schools offered. We appealed it, with a very slight adjustment resulting. She's so enchanted with Carleton, she's more than willing to take on $30,000 of debt by graduation, but as her parents, we're not sure she should, and WE certainly can't--despite what FAFSA says. (We're stuck in that middle-class crunch. Too "affluent" to qualify for much need-based aid, too "poor" to sign a huge tuition check each year. Make that TWO huge tuition checks--we'll have two in college this fall. Yes, I know. We should have made them consider our huge, in-state universities-- where a full ride was waiting for both of them. Alas.) So, we'll be agonizing over this for the next few days.</p>
<p>I wouldn't give up on asking for more aid. If you called and made it clear that it would just be too financially crippling to attend without more, I wouldn't be surprised if they upped the offer. It's certainly worth a shot, anyway.</p>
<p>You're right, Americanski. The worst that could happen is that they say "NO!"</p>
<p>While I certainly wouldn't call $30,000 debt small beans, in the capricious and difficult world of college financing, it seems doable and on the upper bounds of reasonable. It isn't ideal, but for an absolute dream, I would almost certainly go for it.</p>
<p>Yes!!! (i did ED2)</p>
<p>My son's package from Carleton came in almost to the penny of what Emory and Pomona offered. I guess I'm a little surprised they didn't help you out more Hindoo. He'll still have the Staffords, but he would have those regardless of where he went. Carleton was actually the dark horse during applications, but after his overnight visit in April he called to tell me to "buy the tee shirt and bumpsticker" from the airport.</p>
<p>advantagious--You're right! I think she'll go for it.</p>
<p>texastaximom--My daughter's financial aid offer from Pomona was not as good as what Carleton offered. So, I probably ought to stop complaining!</p>
<p>Argh. You have the right to complain. Even with generous aid offers the amount of the loans/books/fees/expenses is very high for colleges these days. </p>
<p>We found the aid came in tiers--schools that were similar and in more direct competition with each other gave similar aid packages. Some schools were just way out there, but generally they did not claim to meet 100% need, either. The problem with the more competitive schools are that they have a lot of waitlisters who would be more than happy to take the spot of an unhappy admit. </p>
<p>In the end, you have to do what is best for your financial situation. I hope she ends up at Carleton, but I'm a bit biased.</p>
<p>Hooray! My daughter will be a freshman at Carleton this fall! The money will be difficult, but we'll get it done.</p>
<p>Congratulations, Hindoo and daughter. What a wonderful feeling to have that decision made. Now you can celebrate, and a week before the deadline, too!</p>
<p>Thanks, momof3D! This has been a long, drawn-out, exhausting process for us, and we're so glad it's over. While our daughter knew that Carleton was exactly where she wanted to be for the next four years of her life, her father and I agonized for months over finances. It finally got to where we were quibbling over relatively insignifcant differences between offers. So, we'll send her where we know she'll be happy, and just tighten the belt a bit more, and be happy for her. Two in college at once. Oh, yeah.</p>
<p>Congratulations and welcome to Carleton! </p>
<p>I have a junior and a sophomore in college this year. Next year (May 08) when our oldest graduates, our daughter will head off to college. And we still have one more!</p>
<p>My son was a new student week leader last year, I don't know if he's doing it again this year or not. NSW is a lot of fun.</p>
<p>Add my S to the Carleton Class of 2011! He walked in today after school and announced he'd made his final decision. Whew! He even filled out the NMF card to send off with Carleton listed as his first choice. I'm thrilled for him (and so glad to get this part of the whole process over with!).</p>
<p>Hindoo, congrats to your D!</p>
<p>Thanks, limner! Same to your son! Carleton should be an amazing experience, but our Southern kids will have some adjusting to do come January. (We're from central Kentucky.) ... My daughter already had Carleton as her NMF choice. I only realized that when they sent her the financial aid decision. That could have been a problem, but fortunately, was not.</p>
<p>Not to worry Hindoo, my Texan wears his flip flops well into winter. :p</p>
<p>You know, kids are just nuts. I can see my daughter doing the same thing!</p>
<p>ttmom--ooowwwww! But, honestly, my S wears short sleeves all year long, which isn't much different, I supposed. Hindoo, he was saying that he's already thinking about how he'll miss TN weather. He took his laptop onto the porch this weekend and did his homework there. He said when he was at the accepted students weekend that the trees were still quite bare. Still, he's never seemed to feel the cold too much.</p>